Lateral-support monorail



Feb. 13, W23. 1,44%12 H. M. DOBBINS LATERAL SUPPORT MONORAIL Filed Aug. 25, 1922 A sheets-sheet 1 lFfib. 13, 1923. RAALEnfilZ .H. M. DOBBINS LATERAL SUPPORT MONORAIL 4 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Aug. 25, 1922 Ham M Dob/n5 H. M. DOBBINS LATERAL SUPPORT MONORAIL Filed Aiag. 25, 1922 I 4 sheets-sheet 5 A TTOP/VEVJ' Feb. 13, 1923. mmz

H. M. DOBBINS LATERAL SUPPORT MONORA I L Filed Aug. 25, 1922 4 sheets-sheet 4 A TTOP/VEVS vide a railroad equipment i at on the lateral tracln through outboard trnrk wheels and lateral arms I l tion are provided with laterally extending Patented Feb l3, llhfillt t Houses nonnrit syorf'resennive;

ap iicaubn new au ust 1922.

a citizen of the United States, residing;- at

Pasadena, in the county of Los Angeles and u xt-ul' Improreulents in Lateral-Slip port lvlonorai'ls or which the following is a specification;

.This invention relates to tus'ancl has for its obj railroad equipment of Another ect to'pro the monorail type 1 object oi": the invention is to pro including" track of such construction structure and vehicles as to materially aml. to reduce the hazarclfoi 'opel'ation, glenrither object oi the invention is to provitle a mum stantially of one main load: loarryinojlrail and a lateral support paralleling the inhin rail and to provide a car structure having main supporting truclrs o )erat'ingi mum 1 main rail; the car fleeing provided with transversely extendingineans inoludii 7 part running on the lateral support to aid in maintaining balance otthe car andstabilizing its action i Another objectis to mentary and auxiliary special support section in cases of vpeculiar Conditions;

A further object is to provide means drlvlng'r the lateral or extended" wheel'run duun according ning on the'lateral supporting track so as to eliminate drag upon the vehicle incident 1 to the running 031- the lateral"supporting nieans ()ther objects and advantages will beuiade manifest in the following s'pet-ifir. embodiments of tlleiuvehtion lllUStl' the: ac(.:o1i1panying' drawings, wherei xl igure 1 is a verticaltransverse set ti o n show- Figure 5 is a planet a car having'double therefor, I t a Figure (3 1s a side elevation of one form oi and State of California, have invented new a it of railway vehicle, herein railroad ztppaira i he a novel reduce the cost of iustallatlon andoperat onpto increase the caparity;

board wheels,

equipn'lent consisting? subvided to one side of provide a supplemay be ballasted, with an auxiliary suba forzn oi? the railroad equipment." Figure 2 is aldetail side elevation" of a ing in tandem and, it

may be connected to the outboard" p a w i v purpose oi: facilitating 1n niaklng curvesr planbi a ear and thetracks" oarironn're;

ne'rnniin surrortr iuoiwonern.

seen No. $849,272.

car showing double wheeled trucks and a single lateral or outboard "WhQQl.

Figure 7 is a plan showing single Wheeled l'riaiirtruoks and a car thereon Tll'ie broad idea of the present in'ventioncolu sists in providing a single niaiin lmid carrying track system upon Wl] ioh any suitable type passenger car, may be supported upon a set of wheels, each of thewheels being arranged preferably substantially in tandem so as to trail upon the track, and in order to provide for the utilization" of an economical substan-' tially single railway lighter and less expensive form of lateral or outboard track upon which ni'ay run outrunners or slide-rs attached extending means in the form armsora frame. a it In the several: 'viewsa roadbed R of any suitable material is graded and at one side ofthe same there is providecl'a substantial track sleeper or bed B on which is arrange'd: afisingle continuous rail or track T ofsu'fto laterally oi.

:ficient strength to' form a substantialsup port for the vehicle.

The roaclhed or rig-htwf-way R' is pro the" main bed B, which stantially ontinuous track or lateral support The lateral support S inay be of any suitable construction and may: or may not be provided wit'h'a track or surfafceme to the exigencies, tracks preferably being omitted for the purpose of obtaining the desired economy of construm tion. l 1 l l A vehicle in the form oi a passenger car (.l is here shown {is being providedwith any suitable typeof truck orTtrucksQ, each truck being shownin l igiure 6 asproVided with tand'en'i wheels 3 Whiletheti'ucks 01 Figure 7 areeaoh provided with a' single wheel 4L; the wheels of allot thetrucks bedesired, theftrucks car chassis by pivoting means or king bolt 5: so as to permit represented as a;

track line I providea" the castering oi the trucks for the obvious" means such as arms or beams 8, Figure 4,

tending arms or frames lines in Figure .my invention inary monorail supporting track on one oi the sidewalls of the conduit or aqueduct or a framework 9 of Figure 5, and on the outer ends or portions of these lateral supports areprovided running members such as wheels 10 or runners or skids which bear upon the lateral outboard supports 55.,

In the several figures the laterally QXJ are provided with wheels and if desired these lateral wheels may be rubber tired as at 11 Figure 1. In some casesit may be desirable to positivel drive the outboard wheels 10 and means is showninFigure 2 to accomplish that object as including a motor 12 connected to the outboard wheel 10 attached to the extending arm8.@ c v v According to the various conditions to be met in installing a railroad of the present system-the lateral supports bl are arranged as most convenient or desirable and in .Fi ure 3 the lateral support S is shown as arranged in a: plane well above the plane of. the main'track T and in which case the lat eral or outboard wheels 10 are carried by outwardly extending arms or framework 8.

The outboard support S may be arranged on either side of the car and supported in any suitable manner as is indicated in dotted 3 according to the contour of the right-of-way.

In certain types of installation it may be desirable to utilize as the lateral support a suspended cable S, Figure-2, and in this instance the outboard wheel or. wheels 10 may be provided with sufficient cylindrical length to provide for relative change of position of the support S as determined by the path of travel of the vehicle so that the wheel can shift transversely as to the support element S.

This form of invention'lends itself especially practicalin the laying: of railways along open water conduits which are coir structed of cement and have lateral parallel walls spaced a considerable distance and which, because of their primary function as serving; as water receivers, may extend for long distances with very small, grades, and enables the erection of the pr!-- and the utilization of the opposite side wall as a support-for the outboard track?) which could serve as a runway for the outboard wheel or wheels of the vehicle. This utilizationof .the invention is especially practical in the cases of conduits oraqueduc ts having; dimenslons of fifteen to twenty feet where it would be impractical to use standard or narrow :tracks alongthe waterconduit 'because of the great expense involved in male ingthe side walls of the conduit of su'llicient width to receive the ordinarily spaced tracks.

There may be cases where it is desirable to add further stability and security in operating railroads of this type and the cars may be provided with supplementary wheels 15, these wheels being adapted to run onto supplementary guard rails 16 which would be located at intervals alongthe right-ofway where there would he a tendency of the vehicle to reel; and lift the outboard wheel or wheels 10 from their soppoiting;- track or tracks S.

It will be understood that the primary supportina wheels 3 of the vehicle or vehicles may be so arranged with relation lo the center of gravity of the vehicle body as ro throw more or less of the weight ol the car onto the lateral outboard wheels lll, the degree of offsetting of the center of gravity as to the vertical plane of the primary wheels 3 thus readily controlling the amount of weight imposed upon the lateral supports.

While the invention has heroin been shown as in combination with rolling stock having tandem wheels and tandem truck wheels, it is to be understood that any other suitable number and arrangement of car wheels may be employed, as for instance. standard trucks with twin pairs or with double twin pairs of wheels, or, in other words, common four-wheel trucks Various embodiments, modifications and variations may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention as here claimed.

hat is claimed is:

1. Railroad equipment comprising, in combination, a right-of-way having a main rolling stock load carrying monorail. a substantially continuous lateral trackway parallelingthe monorail, and a wheeled vehicle principally supported upon the monorail and having); a laterally extending outboard supporting device running: on the tracltwayn the said supporting device being power driven to reduce dragging tendency imparted lo the vehicle while the device is runuiimon said trackway.

2. Railroad equipment comprising). in combination, a right-of-way having a main rolling stock load carrying: ll'lOllUltlll, a substantially continuous lateral tracluvay paralleling' the monorail, and a wheeled vehicle principally supported upon the monorail and having: a laterally extending outboard supporting device running on the tracluray. main and lateral wheels of the vehicle being power driven. I i

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

NORA CE M. DOBTHNS.

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